A Love Story?
by Connor the speling pro
Summary: With Smash Bros fighters missing and antagonists popping up around the multiverse, Ness and Lucas go on an adventure to defeat their old enemies and rescue the missing fighters. But teamwork is key, and while working together they must eventually confront their feelings for each other... and must come to terms with their sexualities.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note:**

 **Hello, everyone. :) Happy New Year!**

 **My name is Connor, and I usually write Earthbound fanfics. So when I decided to try and branch out a bit, Smash Bros seemed like the natural course of action. You don't have to know too much about Earthbound and Mother 3 to understand this fic, but I'm going to assume that you at least have heard about Ness and Lucas and know that they use weird attacks with their mind where they make fire and stuff (something they can't actually do in their games btw).**

 **Anyways, the pairing of Ness and Lucas is... weirdly popular within the Earthbound fandom (which in itself is weirdly large). I'm going to try my hand at the pairing... sort of. I can't promise a final romantic relationship between the two, but this fic is going to go through a series of adventures they have together and talk a lot about their feelings for each other (some of which are Platonic).**

 **It's a little late, I know, but this first chapter is set on New Year's Eve of 2017.**

 **At the end of each chapter there will be a few terms that I explain from various games or mechanics from Smash Bros that might not be common knowledge. Most of these aren't integral to understanding the story, but what's a smash fanfic without references?**

 **Reviews are always appreciated. :)**

 **I hope that 2018 is a good year for all of us! :D**

* * *

As Ness entered the grand dining hall through the gold-plated double doors inside the Smash Skyscraper, his eyes skimmed past the massive chandelier and mahogany furniture and locked onto the food.

His stomach rumbled, and Ness licked his lips.

The next few moments passed in a blur, and the next thing Ness knew he was sitting down at one of the long dining tables with a plate piled high with steak, hamburgers, and french fries. Ness took a moment to breathe in the aroma of the meat mixed with the starchy scent of the fries, feeling the warmth of the food in the air around his dish.

Truly, the American diet was a wonderful thing.

"You know, where I come from humans think of ourselves as omnivores and not carnivores."

Ness turned around to see Princess Zelda standing behind him, carrying a plate of fish and asparagus. She tilted her head and smile before pulling a chair out next to Ness and sitting down.

"I assume it's okay if I join you?" Zelda said.

Ness rolled his eyes, and took a bite out of one of his hamburgers instead. She had asked the same question yesterday when they ate together in the cafeteria with Lucas. And five days before that when they celebrated Christmas together. And the week before that when they decided to try and bulk up on protein shakes.

Usually Lucas was there to answer the same question for the zillionth time. It was like a little ritual between the two.

"I just didn't want to seem rude by plopping down next to you without saying anything," Zelda said. Looking over at Ness' plate and scrunching her nose, "Although I guess I shouldn't have worried."

"Hey," Ness said through a mouthful of food. "Are you implying something about the quality of my food?"

Zelda hesitated, and then picked up one of the french fries that had landed on top of a steak flank when Ness had heaped all the food onto his plate. She held the french fry up above Ness' plate, and drew her lips tight as it dripped with steak juice.

"No need to waste good sauce, right?" Ness said. "I swear they taste better in steak juice."

"If you say so."

"Why don't you try it out to see?"

"Me?" Zelda looked at Ness, and then back at the french fry. "I don't know…"

"Aw, come on." Ness bounced up and down in his seat. "I promise it's good."

"I swear, Ness. You're going to get a heart attack when you're forty if you keep eating like this."

"So that gives me plenty of time to keep stuffing my face with steak, and it gives you plenty of time to try that french fry. Come on, Zelda. Please?"

Ness clasped his hands together and looked up at the princess of Hyrule with the unwavering stare he had perfected after years of asking his mom for new toys and video games.

"I don't know why you care," Zelda said, shying back, "But if it really means that much to you…"

Zelda popped the french fry in her mouth. After chewing for a few seconds, she shrugged and swallowed.

"Tastes fried and fatty," she said, "Like I ingested an entire stick of cholesterol. But it wasn't a _bad_ taste, I suppose. I can see why you like it."

Ness laughed and clapped his hands together. "Victory. You are officially converted to the Ness unhealthy foods club. It's an honor to have you with us, your highness."

Zelda hesitated, and then smiled along. "A pleasure to join. Please, pass me one of those hamburgers."

Ness crossed his arms. "Are you sure? I mean, they have lettuce and tomatoes. That's getting close to _vegetables_ right there."

"Well, I think I should take my descent into saturated fat a little slowly."

Ness blinked, looking at the patties and buns piled up on his plate. "Do you actually want one of these?"

"Sure." Zelda shrugged. "I mean, why not?"

Ness passed Zelda the hamburger that looked the least squished, and she nodded in thanks. She took a bite, chewed, cocked her head in thought, and swallowed.

"I must say that this hamburger is quite different from food we have in Hyrule," Zelda said. "I think it would be a big hit in Hyrule Town."

Ness jumped out of his seat, kicking his chair back. He thought he heard it land on the floor with a dull _thud._

"We have to introduce it to the people in your world," Ness said. "I can't believe that they're missing out on such delicious foods."

"I think it would make everyone fat," Zelda said.

"Hashtag worth."

Zelda grunted. "You're turning into Peach."

"Yeah, I just need to grow out my hair to my waist and then we're set."

"That would look weird with your plaid shirt and shorts," Zelda said.

"Of _course_ it would." Ness grinned. "Why else would I want hair that long?"

Zelda laughed and took another bite out of the hamburger. "Well, 2018 will be a year of new possibilities. Grow out your hair, get all the Hylians fat, find a cute girl to date… you know, serious goals. Happy New Year's Eve, Ness."

Ness raised an eyebrow? Where did the girlfriend suggestion come from? As far as Ness knew, Zelda and Link weren't dating, so she really shouldn't be the one talking.

"For a psychic who can use telepathy," Zelda said, "You're really not that good at hiding your own thoughts."

Ness felt his cheeks flush with warmth. "I, uh…"

"Trust me, I'm keeping romance in mind for myself as well," Zelda said. "But you just seem to have more fun with people than I do."

"Right, so I don't need a girlfriend." Ness shrugged. "I can just have fun with whoever's around."

"I guess that's one way to look at it."

Ness moved to sit back down in his chair and realized that he must have knocked it aside at some point, because it was lying down on the floor a couple paces away. Ness looked over at the fallen chair, and then at Zelda.

"What?" Zelda said. "If I reminded you every time you K. a poor chair, then we wouldn't have anything else to talk about."

"Ehh." Ness waved a dismissive hand. "I can do what the government always does and call this casualty 'collateral damage' so everything will think it's okay."

Ness walked over and picked up the chair, dragging it back over to the table. Before sitting down, he looked around the tables for people he knew.

Well, okay, he _knew_ basically everyone. Pikachu was unwrapping and gobbling up some rare candies in the corner, and Olimar was pointing towards a giant blender as a team of Pikmin heaved a convertible-sized strawberry across the table. In fact, it was easier to notice who, out of the people Ness knew, that he didn't see.

Namely, Lucas.

"Scanning the field for potential hook-ups?" Zelda said. "Even I know that it's easier to hit up the web. I'm sure that you have plenty of fangirls by this point."

"Do not." Ness sat down in his chair. "Earthbound's a weird-ass game, and I'm convinced most of the people who like it are men with overgrown neckbeards in their twenties who spend their time arguing on the internet about how video games are art."

"Dang, dissing your own fanbase." Zelda shook her head. "And are you denying that video games are art?"

Ness shrugged. Whatever.

"Well, if any of your fans just heard you, I'm sure they'll forgive you for wanting to draw the conversation away about your embarrassing secret crushes."

Ness crossed his arms. "I don't have any."

Zelda leaned in. "Mm hmm. Sure."

"Well, what about you and your embarrassing crushes?" Ness said.

"Princesses aren't allowed to have crushes, you know. Just a desire for political alliances."

"A… what?"

Zelda frowned. "In Hyrule, the nobles marry to bring families together and secure political influence. If my father were still alive, he would have married me off to a key ally."

Ness felt the blood drain from his face. "You're not serious."

"It wasn't so different in parts of your planet until pretty recently," Zelda said. "Just give us time."

"Wow. I'm sorry that you lived in that kind of place."

"It was necessary. Besides, I'm out of the entire loop now, so I can fall in love with whoever I want."

"Meaning Link?"

"I'm not quite sure yet. But I always have the option to go back to my own world and live my life out as the King of Hyrule."

"The… king?"

"Right. If I declared myself queen, then whoever married me could call themselves a king and claim the kingdom for their own. So I'll be the king, and they'll be the royal consort. If I want to go down that path, at least. Women kings also existed in your world too, by the way. I don't know why all of this is coming as such a shock to you."

"I guess the truth is stranger than fiction, sometimes."

"Right." Zelda rolled her eyes. "A woman claiming the same powers as a man is unbelievable."

"I didn't mean it like that."

"Hmm."

"I swear, Zelda. You know I'm not like that."

Zelda's lips cracked into a smile. "I'm just messing with you. But you do need to watch what you say, sometimes."

"Yeah, yeah. I know. Sorry for saying something offensive about you and half the multiverse's population of humans."

Zelda laughed and stared off into the distance. "I just wonder how much longer we're going to be here together. I hope that another Smash iteration will come out, but if it doesn't we might have to pack up and go home in a few years. For people like me and Peach that means managing our kingdoms. For you… well, I just don't want you to lose everything here and have nothing to go back to."

"I think I'll be okay," Ness said. "My mom will be glad to see more of me, at least."

"How long is it before you're expected to enroll in a university?"

Ness grimaced. "Three years."

Ugh, college. Ness' mother had been sending him packets of schoolwork to do in his free time to keep up with his classmates for the past few years, and at first Ness had actually tried to do them. But fighting took up so much time, and communal living with the other Smash fighters meant that he always had someone to talk to in his free time. Ness wasn't going to pass by someone in the hall and _not_ chat with them about upcoming tournaments and video games and whatever. Even his mom encouraged him not to be that one kid who always hung out in his room day and night. Which was crazy, now that Ness thought about it, because there was no way in Hell that Ness would hide in a corner when he could be talking with people at the center of the party.

Anyways, Ness hadn't really done much of his schoolwork in the past year or so. And by not much, it was really more like none at all. Ness was absolutely unprepared for college, or any sort of career in the real world. Unless being a psychic counted. But with the reports that his mother was sending about how the public was getting more and more wary of PSI after Ness' departure for Smash Bros, he was becoming less and less certain that he could make a living by levitating rocks or whatever.

"I think it's great that you're pouring your heart and soul into fighting," Zelda said. "But a relationship might be the one thing that will stick with you if Smash Bros goes out of business. Just keep that in mind, all right?"

Ness gulped and nodded. He looked back down at his plate and forced himself to munch on some french fries.

"Ness?" Zelda said. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No, no. I'm fine."

"You're only eating one french fry at a time. I'd say that this must be some sort of personal catastrophe."

Eating fries one by one? Ness would never…

He looked down and saw a single french fry sticking out from his mouth. He grunted and sucked it into his mouth like a spaghetti noodle before looking up into Zelda's concerned expression.

"I'm sorry," Zelda said. "I thought that this would be an exciting conversation for you, since you seem to like people so much. But I guess I didn't really understand you to begin with."

"It's not your fault. I just… don't know if I'm ready for a committed relationship yet. And I don't think I could give someone I love the attention they deserve while working full-time as a Smash Bros fighter."

Zelda's eyes narrowed, and she nodded before turning back to her plate of food. As she stared at her fish and asparagus, she gripped her fork and knife tight in her gloved hands. Ness had seen that posture before. It meant she was thinking hard about something.

Thinking, perhaps, because she saw right through Ness' fat lie.

"Well, I'm still sorry," Zelda said. "Just let me know if you need anything, all right? So far as I'm concerned, you're part of our friend group."

Along with who else? Lucas, and Peach, certainly. Did Samus and Rosalina count? Hell, would they ever return from their hiatus? While Ness certainly didn't miss Rosalina using gravitational pull on his PK Thunder, Bayonetta and Cloud were winning so many tournaments that Ness was actually missing five-minute matches when Rosalina would run away and hide behind Luma the entire time or explosive matches where Zero Suit Samus would paralyze her opponent and send them down into oblivion with her flip kick.

"Hey hey," came a voice from behind Ness. "What's up, bitches?"

"Peach." Zelda didn't bother to look up from her plate. "Nice to see you."

"Aw, why the cold shoulder? Happy New Year's Eve and all that. Now if you'll excuse me…"

Peach plopped down in a chair next to Ness, leaving him sandwiched between her and Zelda. She swirled a wine glass in her right hand and took a sip. She offered Ness a motherly smile.

"So, what juicy gossip are you ladies up to this time?"

"Oh, not much," Ness said. "We're worried that Smash Bros might disband in a couple of years if a new iteration doesn't come out."

"Wait." Zelda placed a hand on Ness' arm. "Are you not offended that she just called you-"

"Oh, so that's why Zeldy was talking to you about romance," Peach interrupted. "Too bad there aren't many cute girls here around your age. I swear, if we recruited Toon Zelda then I'm sure that you two would hit it up."

"Can you two both stop asking me about girlfriends?" Ness said. "Last time I checked, you don't bug each other about getting boyfriends."

Zelda and Peach exchanged a glance.

"What?" Ness said, crossing his arms. "I can tell that you're _dying_ to say something."

"Well, we both just thought that it would be nice for you to _get_ the bitches for once," Peach said, "Instead of just being a part of a group that I sometimes address that way."

"That," Zelda said flatly, "Was not my rationale for asking you about romance."

"But come on, Zeldy," Peach said. "Wouldn't it be cute to see a bunch of teenage girls swooning at the sight of Ness?"

Ness squirmed in his seat. Either way he scooted, he would be closer to someone who wanted to pester him about girlfriends. Ness bent over his plate and cut himself a piece of steak. Hopefully his tense shoulders would tell Peach and Zelda to stop talking about him when his words didn't work.

"Ness told me it would be awkward for him," Zelda said, "So no. It wouldn't be cute. And could you please not call people you don't know 'bitches'? In fact, please don't address Ness or Lucas with that word, either."

Okay, crisis somewhat averted. Ness scooted his chair towards Zelda.

"But you're not complaining about when I call you a bitch?" Peach said, raising an eyebrow.

"When you're just saying 'wazzup, bitch' like you always do, then sure. I can take it. But you have to remember that Ness and Lucas are kids. The dynamics of our friendship with them have to be a bit different."

"I think you're just no fun," Peach said, pretending to pout.

"And I've wondered multiple times if you're a legitimately bad influence on them." Zelda sighed. "I wish Samus were around so I could get her to shut you up."

"Hey," Ness said. "Have either of you seen Lucas?"

Ness was met with two blank faces. Both Peach and Zelda got out of their chairs for a second to look around, giving Ness a moment to breathe.

"He should be here," Peach said, frowning. "I think I'll go look around for him."

"I'll look as well," Zelda said.

"And I'm coming too," Ness said.

Peach and Zelda turned their heads simultaneously to meet Ness' gaze.

"He's my friend too," Ness said. "I want to make sure that nothing's wrong."

Peach gave Zelda an eyebrow raise that Ness interpreted as _"he knows?"_

Zelda shrugged in reply, and motioned for Ness to follow as she walked between the long tables of the grand hall.

Yes, Peach. Ness _did_ know how Lucas had tried to kill himself multiple times in the past couple of years, and he cared just as much as she did about making sure that Lucas didn't try again.

* * *

So, it turned out that there were rooms connected to the grand hall, each one with its own unnecessarily large chandelier, red carpets, and gold-framed paintings on the walls. And attached to each of _those_ were even more rooms, most of which only contained a couple of visitors from other worlds that Ness didn't recognize.

A couple visitors, that was, and in one case a blond-haired boy eating omelets in the corner of the room by himself. As in, sitting down on the floor in the _literal_ corner of the room.

Of course. Because screw the party, and screw the steak and caviar. No matter how the world changed around him, Lucas was going to keep sitting off to the side eating omelets.

Zelda was the first one to widen her eyes and walk towards Lucas, but Peach put a hand on Zelda's shoulder and shook her head. Zelda's body stiffened, like she was going to put up a fight, but then she stepped back and motioned for Ness to go forward.

All right, then. Time to put on friendly Ness face.

"Yo," Ness said, grinning as he walked towards Lucas. "Happy New Year's Eve, man. We should totally do something fun to start out 2018."

Lucas held up a finger while chewing his omelet, and then swallowed. He looked at Ness with the same curious expression as always, but at least this time he didn't look so tense.

"Well, that's in a couple hours or so," Lucas said. "Plenty of time for me to keep hiding over here. I didn't make you worry, did I?"

"No, of course not," Ness said. "We just wanted to see what you were up to."

Lucas snorted. "Liar."

Ness sat down on the floor across from Lucas. "You know, it really isn't fair trying to lie to a psychic."

"I didn't have to read any of your minds. You're all open books." Lucas looked up. "Except Peach, I guess."

"Well, okay," Ness said. "You did worry us."

"I worried Peach and Zelda, so they recruited you to cheer me up. You can tell me the truth, Ness."

"It's more complicated than that," Zelda said. "We always hang out together anyway. I'm glad to see that you're doing all right. If you need some time alone, I think we all understand."

Lucas sighed. "Look, there are times when my brain chemicals go to _shit,_ I get super depressed, and I need you to treat me like a baby until I can get back on track. Just because I'm eating by myself doesn't mean I'm like that right now. You can talk to me like a regular person, Zelda."

"I…" Zelda's grasped for the right words. "You mean speak more casually?"

"I think she's worried that you were deliberately trying to avoid us," Ness said. "Doesn't matter if you're depressed. If you need some alone time, then you _need some alone time._ I get it."

"Do you?" Lucas raised an eyebrow, "Can you really empathize with someone so awkward and introverted when you always find a way to fit in with people?"

"Just ask Zelda," Ness said. "I was alone when she found me in the other room."

"Because you were preoccupied with food."

Ness crawled over and flicked Lucas' shoulder. "No mind reading. Bad Lucas."

Lucas shook his head, flashing an _"I honestly can't believe this kid,"_ sort of expression, but he did crack a smirk for the first time that conversation. Ness grinned back.

"My therapist says that I shouldn't mind read anymore," Lucas told him. "Sometimes, it's better to be alone with my own feelings than trying to fit into the mess of thoughts outside my mind. So I don't use telepathy anymore."

"Yeah, and it's _rude._ "

Lucas smiled. "I guess it is. But I don't need psychic powers to tell that you and food are a match made in heaven."

"I like to think that food and all of us are a match made in heaven, given that we need it to survive and all." Ness looked over at Lucas' plate. "So how are the omelets?"

"Good," Lucas said. "But not like my mother made them."

Right, right. Zelda and Peach seemed to flip-flop every week on whether Lucas was having trouble accepting his past or having trouble letting go. Ness could see how it was complex for them to deal with a kid who refused to go home and yet painted the walls of his room to look like a sunflower field just because his mother liked them.

And if it were complex for them, he didn't want to think about how it must have felt for Lucas himself.

"Well, is there anything fun you want to do after you're done eating?" Ness said. "We could try ice skating again. Ooh, and there's always the basketball court. You've been getting pretty good at free throws recently. I don't know if we could get Zelda and Peach to play, but…"

"Hey," Peach said. "I was in Mario Hoops, you know. I bet I could _destroy_ you boys in a pickup game."

"That's just because they're not tall enough to block you," said Zelda, flashing a thin smile.

"None of you want to stick around for the party and the ball drop?" Lucas said.

"It's not my tradition," Zelda said with a shrug. "I don't care."

"Right," Peach said. "The Mushroom Kingdom has its own calendar as well."

Lucas looked Ness in the eye.

"Nah," Ness said. "I don't need to see some ball drop when I can drop some basketballs in the hoop myself."

Peach clapped Ness on the back and gave him a thumbs-up.

"And besides, the distinction between years has to land on a random day," Ness said, "Because there's no marker when the sun's orbit is really 'complete'."

Lucas' eyes lit up. "Have you actually been doing your homework?"

Ness scowled. "No, but I'm not an idiot. And besides, having fun with you means more to me than watching some ball land on the ground. Especially when I'm not even old enough to celebrate the New Year with alcohol."

Lucas laughed. "Well, there is something I want to do, but it's a little boring…"

Ness scooted closer. "You can tell me. I'll keep a secret."

Lucas rolled his eyes and leaned away. "Since the doubles tournament is coming up pretty soon, I was wondering if we could get some practice in."

"Oh, so you want to play tennis?" Peach said. "In addition to wrecking noobs at basketball, I also play a mean serve game."

Zelda blinked. "You know he means practicing doubles for _Smash Bros fighting,_ right?"

"Wait, what?" Peach spun around to face Zelda. "He wants to do _work_ on a holiday?"

"I'm all up for doubles," Ness said. "I mean, this is the perfect time. I'm sure Cloud is at the party right now, so he can't ambush us and ask to join our rotation."

Ness shuddered. He had felt too many team combos on him end with Cloud's Finishing Touch to practice doubles on a regular basis.

"I'd be up for some practice," Zelda said, "Although with Peach drunk, we might be at a bit of a disadvantage."

"Excuse me?" Peach put a hand on her hip, using the other one to take a sip from her wine glass. "I always carry your sorry ass in doubles. Ever since those Sheik nerfs, you've never been able to keep up."

"How about if I team with Zelda, then?" Lucas said. "That way, you two can duke it out over whoever's the better doubles player."

"Oh, yeah," Peach said. "Bring it on. I'll whoop both of your asses any day."

Zelda turned towards Ness. "Are you okay teaming with Peach? If not, I can be the sacrificial cow."

Sacrificial… cow? Maybe they didn't have lambs to sacrifice in Hyrule.

"I think we'll be fine," Ness said. "I mean, it's just practice. I don't think it matters too much even if you wipe the floor with us."

"That's the sort of attitude that's going to get us fucked up," Peach said. "Come on, Ness. We're going to wreck their sorry asses and do a victory lap around the Great Cave Offensive afterwards."

Zelda raised an eyebrow, as if to say _"Are you sure about this?"_

"Sure, whatever," Ness said. "Let's go and hit the practice arenas, then."

"So here's the strategy," Peach said, walking over to Ness. "Sheik can't kill and Lucas can't approach, so we run away from Lucas and kill Sheik."

"About that," Zelda said. "Lucas and I used to team together pretty often, so I was thinking that it might be more fair if I went Zelda instead of Sheik. Besides, I feel a little bad that Ness has to deal with a drunk teammate."

Peach snorted, but Ness could see a twinge of fear in her eyes. Losing was bad enough, but the prospect of losing to someone who wasn't even trying their hardest had been enough to drive Smash Bros fighters out of the scene before.

RIP Pichu. Ness hoped to see him again in Smash 5.

…Not that Pichu had actually cared about his opponents trolling him or anything.

"Sounds good," Lucas said. "Let's head over to the practice stages, shall we?"

Lucas shoved the rest of the omelet in his mouth and walked off. He didn't look back as Peach and Zelda exchanged a glance and shrugged, following behind a moment later.

If Lucas' depression wasn't crippling him, then why would he be sitting on the floor eating omelets by himself on New Year's Eve? Ness shook his head and followed behind.

Maybe he could put the pieces together during their practice session.

* * *

Turns out, Ness did not have the time to put the pieces together while he was getting his ass whooped in the practice session.

It didn't start out so bad. Lucas and Zelda won the first game with two stocks and both of them at high percent. Going into the second game, Ness and Peach had a nice combo to get some early damage on Zelda.

But then Lucas turned up the heat. He landed a nasty up-smash that killed both Ness and Peach at the same time.

As the match went on, Lucas and Zelda got more and more comfortable working together, and Lucas in particular was always where he needed to be. And he played _mean,_ too. Like, I'm-going-to-PSI-Magnet-your-PK-Thunder-to-stop-your-recovery kind of mean.

Honestly, it made Ness feel a bit like Rosalina was in the game.

After a couple dozen attempts, Ness and Peach still hadn't won a single match. Once they hit their groove, Lucas and Zelda combed off of each other's hits effortlessly, and Peach seemed to hit Ness with her attacks more often than she hit her opponents.

Maybe Lucas felt bad for completely eviscerating Ness during the practice session, because afterwards he invited Ness over to his room to review the footage and work on tips to improve. After bidding Peach and Zelda goodbye, Ness walked through the metal halls of Smash Skyscraper until he arrived at Lucas' room.

Lucas' door had a black and white picture of a sunflower on it. Really, it functioned better than a nameplate. Even before becoming friends with Lucas, Ness had heard about Lucas' dead mother (thanks, internet) and how much she liked sunflowers. When Lucas looked at the picture even now, his gaze softened just a bit. He closed his eyes and placed a hand over his heart before reaching for the doorknob and turning.

Ness wished that Lucas would show his vulnerability more often instead of hiding in a corner and eating omelets on his own. He did know that Ness and the others were here to help, right? Ness hadn't exactly pledged his support for Lucas all right, but Zelda and Peach both told him that the best way of helping Lucas would be to act normal. According to them, Lucas needed another boy around his age to do fun activities with. The two of them could handle emotional support, and the therapist could help Lucas get back into the right mindset.

But what did "acting normal" really mean? Trying too hard to seem normal would be abnormal, wouldn't it? Or perhaps that would be the most normal behavior of all for someone Ness' age. Ness had been away from school too long to remember.

If only Paula were here. She would know exactly what to do.

Lucas motioned for him to enter the room, and Ness followed Lucas inside. Not the first time Ness had seen the walls painted like a mural displaying a sunflower field, but Ness caught his breath anyway. Each time, for just a moment when he stepped inside Lucas' room, it looked like he actually was standing right under the clouds in a meadow of sunflowers.

Too much time spent in Smash Skyscraper jumping from world to world in an instant when selecting stages, probably. At this point, he had been to so many worlds that he didn't know if anything was capable of surprising him anymore.

"Ahem," Lucas said.

Ness looked over to see Lucas standing next to a figure that bore the body shape of Rosalina. The body shape, perhaps, but not the body itself. The figure's face and dress looked like a slice of outer space, and stars twinkled all over her clothing and skin.

Ness yelped and stumbled backwards, falling on his rear.

 _"_ _He's not super observant, is he?"_ The figure's voice sounded distant, as if projected through a radio.

"He does his best," Lucas said.

"Lucas." Ness rose to his feet. "What is that thing?"

 _"_ _I,"_ the figure said with a smile, _"Am the Cosmic Spirit. Your friend sent me here."_

Okay, she smiled and Ness could make out lips. Still the same dark backdrop as the rest of her body, of course. And right above her lips was a small nose. But Ness looked further up, and saw no eyes. As the Cosmic Spirit turned her face towards him, Ness got the sense that she was looking directly into his soul.

 _"_ _Are you sure he should hear what I have to say?"_ the Cosmit Spirit said.

"He'll be fine," Lucas said. "Please, give us the memo."

 _"_ _Right. You know when Rosalina went missing a couple months ago around Halloween?"_

"Oh, right," Ness said. "And when did Samus go missing? A month later?"

 _"_ _Samus is missing?"_ the Cosmic Spirit frowned.

"She went to chase after Rosalina," Lucas said.

"Wait, what?" Ness said. "She didn't tell me."

"She didn't tell anyone," Lucas said, rolling his eyes. "And yet Zelda and Peach figured out why she left as well. I see why you two get along so well together. Neither one of you can put two and two together sometimes."

Ness and Samus? He didn't think that they got along especially well together. It was just… might as well be nice to the other Smash fighters that he would have to live with for years, right?

 _"_ _I should have guessed,"_ the Cosmic Spirit said. _"I guess I'll have to track Samus down in the meantime. But Rosalina just sent me to tell you that Porky has been detected again."_

"P-Porky?" Ness said.

Oh, did Ness remember his old next door neighbor turned pilot of a massive spider mech and wanted to destroy the world… or something. In retrospect, half of Ness' adventure to save the world felt like some sort of crazy dream.

"And where did she detect him?" Lucas said.

 _"_ _In a place called Dalaam."_ The Cosmic Spirit frowned. _"She said that you would understand what it meant."_

Ness' heart skipped a beat.

Lucas nodded. "Thanks for the information. Have a nice day."

The Cosmic Spirit nodded and vanished from sight. Lucas let out a yawn and plopped down on his couch. After snuggling up into a ball, he looked down at his watch.

"Looks like it's 2018," Lucas said. "Happy New Year."

"Uh, yeah."

"A year of new opportunities." Lucas smiled. "Maybe. Do you have any New Year's Resolutions?"

"I just…" Ness shook his head. "Porky's in _Dalaam._ "

"That's not really a resolution."

"Why would he be…?" Ness shook his head. "And why now?"

"Listen, I just thought that it would be good for you to catch up about what's going on across the worlds," Lucas said. "We can work out how to deal with Porky later. I think we'll be plenty busy training for the doubles tournament anyway. I know that Porky's appearance is odd, but I'm sure it will all make sense in time."

Something about Lucas' casual attitude sounded off, but maybe Ness was just overreacting. And at this hour, who knew if he would actually be able to think straight if his life depended on it?

"Okay," Ness said. "I guess. Yeah, we'll have plenty of time in this new year to deal with our problems."

Lucas flashed a weak smile. "I'm sorry for dragging you into my conversation with the Cosmic Spirit. I thought that she was going to give us an update on Rosalina instead of starting off your 2018 with a whole new source of stress."

"No, I'm glad that I heard what's going on."

Lucas nodded in appreciation. "Thanks for being strong. And thanks for practicing with me. I know that it probably wasn't the most exciting New Year's celebration for you, and it really means a lot that you wanted to spend it with me."

Ness felt heat rising in his cheeks. "Better than dressing up like we did last year, you know? At least getting destroyed by you and Zelda was simple."

Lucas laughed. In that moment, he really did look like just a regular teenager. "Do you think we'll have more time to practice together this year, Ness?"

"I'm sure we will."

"But you're so busy all the time."

"I'll take fighting more seriously. Call _that_ my New Year's Resolution. We're going to win that damned doubles tournament together, whether or not Rosalina comes back to snatch all of my PK Thunders away with her Gravitational Pull."

"That's a pretty big promise." Lucas yawned. "And I'm ready to help you with that goal in the morning. Or, I guess, later in the morning."

Ness nodded. It would probably be best to leave Lucas in peace for now, anyway. He walked over to the door and opened it. Right before closing it behind him, Ness looked back at the figure of Lucas lying down on the couch.

"Good night, Lucas," he said.

Lucas smiled. "Good night, Ness."

Ness closed the door behind him.

* * *

 **Key terms:**

 **Ness-Rosalina matchup:** This is considered to be not only one of Ness' worst matchups, but also one of the worst matchups any character can have in the game. Ness has little to deal with Luma, and when he tries to get back to the stage he needs to use PK Thunder to hit himself. The problem is that Rosalina's Down-B, Gravitational Pull, draws the PK Thunder away so that Ness kinda... falls to his death.

 **Cloud in doubles:** In the competitive smash scene, Cloud dominates the doubles metagame. Many people are calling for bans.

 **Cosmic Spirit:** A Rosalina-shaped... spirit, I guess. She's from Super Mario Galaxy 2 and gives they player help if they fail the level too many times, but other than that is pretty enigmatic. I use her in non-canon ways.

 **Porky:** Ness and Lucas both knew him from their games, and he appears as an enemy in the subspace emissary. His role ranges from annoying nextdoor neighbor to cult member to supreme leader of a fascist organization while he chugs around in a spider mech... the Earthbound games are weird, man.

 **Dalaam:** A Tibet-inspired area from Ness' world in Earthbound.

 **Paula:** One of Ness' friends, and a party member in Earthbound. Token female character, and the game hints at a possible relationship between her and Ness.

* * *

 **As one final note, I'd like to say again that reviews are greatly appreciated. :) I'm planning to have Ness and Lucas go to different worlds within the Smash universe, and while I have some planned I also could try to incorporate some of your suggestions. If you want Ness and Lucas to go to a specific place within the Smash multiverse, feel free to leave a review and let me know. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

_"Lucas, I'd like to work through some strategies together for how to deal with your depression. There's no surefire way to make you feel at your best, of course, but I'd at least like to talk through some techniques that might be helpful."_

 _"…"_

 _"Lucas?"_

 _"Before we start, I have a question for you."_

 _"Of course."_

 _"And I don't want you to give me the bullshit that you'd tell someone else. I don't want you to change up the topic and try to make me feel better. I want your honest opinion."_

 _"Hopefully my honest opinion includes something that will make you feel better. I'm optimistic about our chances of helping you."_

 _"Why is my life worth anything at all?"_

 _"Lucas, I know that things might seem bleak right now, but-"_

 _"But you're here to support me. Right. But why? Just because I'm paying you?"_

 _"Because I want you to feel better."_

 _"Okay. You want me to return to my normal self. You want me to live. But does it really matter in the cosmic sense? What loss is it really if I fling myself off Smash skyscraper, just one death out of billions of people?"_

 _"I think we should focus on getting you to feel better. Then we can work on answering those questions."_

 _"No redirection. No bullshit."_

 _"I think it's better for us to get you to a state where you can answer that question on your own."_

 _"I want your answer."_

 _"…"_

 _"You don't have one."'_

 _"You're right, Lucas. One life, when compared against billions, doesn't seem like it matters all that much."_

 _"So what you're doing is just a lie to make me feel better."_

 _"That's one way to interpret it. But let's say that a billion people die. Couldn't you argue that a billion deaths isn't really that many, since we have essentially infinite people in the multiverse as a whole?"_

 _"Right. Nothing at all matters."_

 _"But meaning is relative. If nothing matters, everything matters. And then we're right back where we started."_

 _"I don't follow."_

 _"If you had to choose between saving one life or two, which would you pick?"_

 _"Two lives, obviously. Get to the point."_

 _"One life. Two lives. Both of them are nothing when compared to the vast reaches of the multiverse. But you just admitted that the difference of one life matters. That one life could be you."_

 _"…"_

 _"So sure, we're nothing when compared to the multiverse. But we still matter. And soon, I hope you can see that the meanings we create for ourselves are just as important as the numbers you crunch in your head, if not more."_

 _"…"_

 _"Lucas?"_

 _"Let's get started."_

* * *

Ah, the sweet sweet cafeteria. Again. And it even smelled vaguely of vomit this time. It would be so easy for Lucas to reach out with his mind and sift through floating thoughts until he could glean information about the person who barfed in here last night. No different than flipping through an encyclopedia until he landed on the right page, really.

But thanks to Lucas' new therapist, he was supposed to stay inside of his own head for now. Lucas had scoffed when the therapist said that reading so many minds with telepathy could be overwhelming enough to contribute to his depression, but there must be a reason why this person got paid for just giving out life advice.

And ultimately, it couldn't hurt to shut himself off from telepathy for a while. It wasn't like he could feel that much worse.

Lucas sighed, and then looked over to see Ness sitting down next to him with a plate piled with eggs and steak. Where had he come from?

"It really would kill you to eat normal person food, wouldn't it?" Lucas said.

"Hey, I have eggs this time." Ness crossed his arms. "So it's breakfast food."

"Sure." Lucas yawned. "Sorry again for giving you a scare last night with the Cosmic Spirit. I had no idea that she was going to talk about Porky."

"Yeah, about that." Ness chomped down on his steak. "You made it seem like I was acting all weird when I said that I wanted to go track down Porky. I assumed that I was just out of it because it was so late."

Late? Lucas was pretty sure it had been before one in the morning.

"But it still makes sense in my head today," Ness said, "So unless I'm hungover from just being tired, I think that we should head over to Dalaam."

Lucas took a moment to study Ness. Stupid grin? Check. Baseball cap on slightly crooked? Check.

Dark eyes that drew him in like black holes? Check.

Okay, maybe Lucas shouldn't go that far, but there was something cool about the way that Ness pushed his way through the thorns and brambles of life with a smile on his face. It didn't even seem like Ness was smiling through the pain. He just… didn't let it get to him.

What would that be like?

"Lucas?"

"When did this become about both of us?" Lucas said.

Ness' eyes widened in hurt. "Because Porky. I know you don't want him to hurt more people in the same way that he tore your family apart."

And that was another thing. Even when Lucas had read Ness' mind with telepathy earlier, he couldn't wrap his head around how Ness believed that everyone could be so purehearted. Ness would drop everything to stop Porky from ravaging Dalaam, so _of course_ everyone else would do the same. The alternative probably never occurred to him.

"Listen," Lucas said. "I don't know if I can confront Porky again. Besides, I know that you'll be plenty capable on your own."

Ness blinked, frowned, and then picked at his steak. Ness hesitated as he brought his fork up to his mouth, and he looked at Lucas out of the corner of his eye as he ate. After Ness took a couple bites, Lucas released a sigh.

"You're terrible at keeping quiet when you want to say something, you know," Lucas said.

Ness tensed up. "I just don't know if it's polite."

"I never comment when you slurp your spaghetti noodles, do I?"

"This is a different kind of impolite."

"You're going to ask me why I'm scared of fighting Porky when I have the psychic power to raze an entire landscape."

Ness dropped his fork on his plate. "How did you know?"

Because it was the obvious question? Lucas rolled his eyes.

"The answer," Lucas said, "Is in the question. What if I'm too powerful, Ness? What if I let my PSI run out of control and make everything worse?"

"Well, that's never happened before," Ness said, "Right?"

Lucas sucked in a breath of air and slid out of the cafeteria booth, standing straight up.

"Right?" Ness said, frowning.

"I just remembered something I had to do," Lucas said. "I'll talk with you later."

"Lucas?" Ness said. "Did I say something wrong?"

Lucas started to walk away.

"Lucas!"

Lucas clenched his fists. Of course it wasn't Ness' fault. He would figure that out eventually, one way or another.

Lucas walked out of the cafeteria and shut the door behind him.

* * *

Lucas found Zelda standing by one of the window-walls in Smash Skyscraper, looking at the world of steel and flashing lights below. He walked up to her and pressed his palms against the glass of the wall, staring down at the cars and buildings on the planet's surface. The blanket of steel covering the ground extended all the way out to the horizon.

It was strange to look at the world beneath the Smash Skyscraper without his telepathy blazing. Instead of seeing lines of blue data flowing through the air to create a network that sprawled across the entire city, Lucas only saw the grey.

How to explain it? Without telepathy, Lucas felt blind. But with blindness came a sort of clarity. Whereas blind people heightened their hearing abilities, Lucas' lack of telepathy allowed him to focus and really _see_ the world below.

His eyes followed a steel airship as it weaved between buildings. Perhaps the airship didn't have to be a point of data exchange, a cog in the well-oiled machine of society. Maybe it could just be an airship. Maybe the rockets blasting blue flame behind the airship could just be rockets.

Maybe the people inside of that airship could just be _people._

"I remember this was the place where I first met you," Zelda said.

"Excluding all the times we fought on the battlefield before?" Lucas said.

"Those don't count." Zelda's blue eyes stared through the glass wall. "This was the first place where I really met _you._ "

"I suppose that's fair."

"I remember that you asked me why the preservation of life is fundamentally good." Zelda looked over at Lucas. "Have you found your answer yet?"

Lucas stepped away from the glass wall. "Not yet. But I figure that until I do, I might as well cling onto everything I have. It's so much easier to destroy than it is to rebuild. That goes for morals, buildings, and people."

"And what do you have that you're scared to destroy, Lucas?"

"You and Peach. My friendship with Ness."

But there were times when he couldn't hold on. Rosalina had left after calling Lucas a friend, and Samus had done the same less than a month later. Eventually, Ness would go off to college and leave Lucas behind.

Lucas' life was decaying slowly, inevitably. And at the end of it all he would die alone and join his mother, along with his brother Claus.

This must be what happened to all heroes after they finished their adventures.

"And of course," Lucas said, "There are strange feelings bubbling up in my chest that I can't quite understand. It's enough to make me wonder if I have the capacity to love again. But I can't say for sure."

Zelda smiled. "Love takes on different forms for different people. But I will say that if I were in your place and loved Ness, it wouldn't have been so easy for me to destroy him during our training session yesterday."

Lucas' heart skipped a beat. "Who said anything about Ness?"

"I don't have to read minds to see how much you care about each other. Oh and by the way, Peach thinks that Ness is gay for you."

No. Oh no. bad, bad, _bad._

"I know that dealing with those sorts of emotions might be tough," Zelda said, "But hey. You might just like him as a friend. That's okay as well."

"Okay, back up," Lucas said. "Why do you think that Ness is even gay in the first place?"

"I was the one who suggested it." Zelda shrugged. "Peach loves to pester him about getting a girlfriend, and he gets pretty uncomfortable whenever she brings it up. Sure, it's possible that he's just embarrassed around someone like Peach, but I think it would make sense if he's still coming to terms with his own sexuality."

"Ness isn't gay," Lucas said.

"Oh, you read his mind?"

"No, I just…" Lucas felt goosebumps rising on his arm. "He _can't_ be."

"Well, hopefully you have some time to work out your feelings, and Ness has time to work out his. Peach could be wrong, of course. And I could be as well. I just wanted to let you know in case he starts acting weird."

Lucas' looked into Zelda's eyes and saw sympathy. The thought crossed Lucas' mind that maybe, just maybe, he should tell Zelda the full truth. Lay out everything in front of her so that she could see exactly why he was so scared at the thought of someone loving him.

Stupid, stupid. Some secrets bore down on his shoulders with the weight of a mountain. To try and force his pain onto Zelda would be selfish.

"Well, it might not end up mattering for a while," Lucas said. "Porky surfaced in Dalaam, and Ness wants to check up on him."

Zelda's eyes narrowed. "Are you okay with him leaving?"

"Of course. I have to be."

"What does that mean?"

"I know that you and Peach dragged Ness into this whole mess just so that I could have a 'normal' friend instead of another mom who hovers over me like both of you do. Friends take trips sometimes. They won't always be there to attend to my every need. That was the _point._ "

"I think if you explained how bad your anxiety and depression are and how much you appreciate his company, then-"

"Then he wouldn't be any different from you," Lucas said. "I don't want Ness to help me just because he feels sorry. That's not fair to him, and I already feel terrible for what I've done to you and Peach."

"We don't mind," Zelda said, "And we both understand that some people have different needs than others. So please, don't say that you've 'done' anything to us. We're both here for you because we _want_ to be."

"And Ness?"

"I think," Zelda said, looking back out the glass wall, "That he picks up on more than you realize."

Lucas sighed. "Maybe. But we're still normal friends. We hang out and play video games. We meet up and talk about baseball while he stuffs his face with steak in the cafeteria. We give each other training tips for Smash tournaments. I don't want to lose that by forcing him to stay around me when he wants to track down Porky in Dalaam instead."

"I think it's not too much to expect a normal friend to stand by and offer support when you need help," Zelda said.

"But I always need help," Lucas said, "And I don't want Ness to be responsible for me when I can't offer him anything in return. So I'm going to let him go to Dalaam on his own."

Zelda looked up towards the ceiling. "You know, the other thought is that you could go with him to Dalaam. I don't know if you're feeling up for venturing into the rest of the multiverse again, but-"

"I'm not."

"Well, then I guess you have a difficult choice. You could talk to your therapist about it."

"I think I'm just going to let Ness go. It's the right thing to do."

"If you feel comfortable with that decision, then I'll stand behind it," Zelda said. "I think it's good that you care about Ness. I just worry that you still don't care enough about yourself."

Lucas walked back over to the glass wall and looked down at the city. Without telepathy, the world sometimes looked so cold. Airships darted by and cars swarmed the highways. Lucas didn't think that any of them cared for each other.

"But I do think it's important to come to terms with how you feel about Ness," Zelda said. "What do you want your relationship with him to be like?"

"Relationship?"

"Doesn't have to be romantic."

"I'm still not sure," Lucas said. "It's probably selfish to say that I just want my relationship with Ness to be whatever gets me through each day. But hey, I'm a selfish person."

 _Kumatora… I'm so sorry._

"It's not selfish to have basic needs," Zelda said, "And it's not your fault that those needs are harder to meet than you would like."

"Yes it is."

"Well, either way I think that giving up will just make it worse. I know it's difficult, but we should try to find a way to resolve this difficult situation with Ness."

"I'm not telling him that he needs to stay for me."

Zelda nodded. "That's your choice. Are you really comfortable letting him go?"

The room fell silent. Lucas stared out the window at the world of flashing lights below.

"I do trust you," Zelda said. "I just worry, that's all."

Lucas sighed. "I'm not comfortable with him leaving, but I think I'd feel worse forcing him to stay just for me. Ness should go back to Dalaam and help his friends. I should be okay with this. I'll make it through."

"Sometimes," Zelda said, looking up at the sky, "It's not about what _should_ happen. It's about what you need."

"Well soon," Lucas said, "I _need_ to go back and apologize to Ness for abandoning him without any sort of reason. I bet he's worried that he did something wrong."

Zelda smiled. "Yeah, he's a sweetheart. You have to do what's right for you, of course, but if you do have feelings for him then I'll say you could do a lot worse."

It had been so long since Lucas had blushed that he almost didn't recognize the sensation of heat rising in his cheeks.

"I'll deal with that later," Lucas said.

 _You can't keep running forever,_ a voice in Lucas' mind told him. _Eventually, your problems are going to catch up to you and beat you bloody by the roadside._

Lucas took a deep breath. Some day the truth would catch up to him, but today was not that day.

"Do you need Ness?" Zelda said.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"How does it feel to know that any day, he might wake up and decide to leave? I'm sure you know that none of us can stay in Smash Skyscraper forever."

Lucas squeezed his eyes shut. Emptiness. If there was nothing to feel, nothing to _be,_ then nothing could hurt him ever again.

"I understand if you're not ready to answer those questions yet," Zelda said. "That's why we're here to get you to a place where you can. Peach and I will keep you safe."

Safe. Lucas almost laughed. He could bring the entire skyscraper down right now with a flick of his hand, and they were trying to keep _him_ safe. He opened his eyes and looked up at Zelda's concerned expression.

"Thanks for your support," Lucas said, "But I really need to go now."

Lucas turned around to leave.

"Wait," Zelda said. "I might have a way to get Ness to stay."

"I thought I told you," Lucas said. "I don't want-"

"I'll get him to stay, and not because of you," Zelda said. "That way, you both can go back to normal. At least for a little while."

Lucas hated that hope started rising in his chest. Of course a few more days, a few more weeks, or even a few more months with Ness wouldn't be able to help him go back to normal. He had been broken when first meeting Zelda over two years in this room, and he was just as broken now. He would need millennia to pick up all the pieces of himself and put them back together.

But he would take any more time with Ness that he could get. At this point, what did he have to lose?

* * *

 **So apparently I had this chapter collecting dust for months and I completely forgot that I wrote it. One thing I should probably mention is that you don't need to have played through the Mother/EarthBound games to really understand this fic. There are hints of Lucas' past here, but it's all AU stuff that doesn't come into play in the actual games.**

 **Will I finish this story? I... hope so. But I honestly have no plan for what's going to happen next, so we'll see.**

 **Review responses:**

 **Guest (first to review):** Yep, there are still people devoted to a 23-year old game haha. Damn EarthBound is older than I am.

 **Guest (second to review):** I was almost disappointed that I had never gotten a troll review before this. Now I feel like a legitimate fanfic writer. :D

 **LordLenne:** Thanks! :)

 **formora:** Oh well thank you for reading my fics! I'm really glad that you've been liking my recent stories (and hopefully you still have been over the past half-year haha). Yeah I'm not super familiar with EarthBound ships as well and honestly I just wanted to write something out of my comfort zone... I've never written romance before, and I'm not part of the LGBTQ+ community myself, so I'm trying my best to create a good story with characters I might not be as used to in kind of a low stakes environment (I might not want to try this for the first time on an actual novel that I would want to publish).

 **Genie:** Responded via PM, I would have forgotten about this story if not for you lol


	3. Chapter 3

Ness avoided an overturned plate of black beans and rice on the ground as he walked through the cafeteria, tracking the dark black bean water as it spread through the cracks in between floor tiles. Before he could make his way to the tables with red and white checkerboard tablecloths sprawled over, he heard a puff of air behind him.

"Poyo."

"Hey hey." Ness turned around and patted Kirby on the head. "How are you doing, buddy?"

"Poyo?"

Kirby looked up at Ness with wide eyes that reminded him of sunsets spent sitting on the front porch while his dog King gazed up at Ness and licked his face. And Kirby was just a baby, right? Ness could almost imagine him as a little puppy, wagging his tail.

"Poyo." Kirby inhaled the beans and rice off the floor, and Ness held onto the tip of his baseball cap to keep it steady.

"I bet the janitors love having you around."

"Ah, Master Ness," came a voice from the side. "It is good to see you."

"Poyo." Kirby ran over to Meta Knight and gave him a boop on the mask with his little stump of an arm.

"Just Ness is fine. And I see you dropped your Spanish accent. Gave up on your dreams of becoming a Luchador?"

"There are plenty of cultures that speak Spanish other than Mexio, Master Ness." Meta Knight reverted back to his accent. "And not all of us can exemplify America as well as you."

"Is this about the hamburgers and steak again? I told you, they're part of a well-rounded diet."

"Poyo." Kirby nodded in what Ness took to be agreement.

 _"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen,"_ blared a flat screen TV along the far wall. _"And thank you for all attending the business meeting."_

"What?" Ness glanced at Meta Knight. "I was just here to grab some grub."

"Didn't you hear?" Meta Knight said. "This is where we get to see who stays and who goes for the next season of Smash Bros."

"Oh no." Ness scanned the room. "Oh no _oh no._ "

"I'm not too worried about me or Kirby," Meta Knight said. "And I don't think you should be either. Even if your game didn't have such a cult following, Nintendo wouldn't cut someone from the original twelve. There would be an uproar."

There. Ness spotted Lucas in a corner booth, nibbling on a bit of falafel.

"Sorry, but I have to go," Ness said. "Talk to you later."

"Poyo!" Kirby waved goodbye as Ness darted in between tables.

Peach and Zelda would be fine as well. What would their game series be without ass-kicking princesses on the Smash roster? But Lucas' game still hadn't been localized in North America, and Nintendo had dropped characters from the roster for less.

Ness wove his way past humans from Fire Emblem, Pokémon, and whatever Wario was supposed to be before sliding into Lucas' booth across from him. Lucas blinked and froze in the middle of chewing his falafel.

"I swear," Ness said. "Nobody tells me about these things."

Lucas held up a finger until he finished swallowing. "Sorry, Ness."

"Sorry for what? For eating and be interrupting you? We have to get you a swear jar but have you put money in every time that you apologize."

"No, not that, I-"

 _"It is with great pleasure that we announce Super Smash Bros Ultimate."_ The screen zoomed in on a black-and white Smash logo. _"This new installation of Smash Bros will have all the new content you would expect from a full game, but for starters we can take a look at some of the characters returning to the roster."_

"Hey." Ness waited until Lucas met his gaze. "It's going to be okay."

"I'll be fine either way." A pause. "But thanks for your concern."

The TV screen flashed to a scene with Battlefield floating above a blue sea with moss and crystals covering the background of the island. A warp pipe sprouted out from the ground and Mario jumped out with a "Wahoo!"

"Well, at least we know Mario's in the game," Ness said, giving Lucas a nudge with his elbow.

The TV cut to Samus, then Kirby on Green Greens…

"Poyo!"

Bowser, Link, Donkey Kong, Fox and Falco, Marth, Zelda and Sheik…

Ness glanced around the room. He spotted Zelda sitting across from Peach in a booth closer to the TV, her brow knotted and eyes focused on the screen as Peach was shaking her arm and laughing.

Villager, Mewtwo and Meta Knight…

Ness looked over and met Meta Knight's gaze. The Masked Warrior nodded.

Sonic, Peach…

"Oh _fuck_ yes." Peach stood up and slammed her palms on the table. "Who's ready to get shit on for five more years?"

Pikachu, Ice Climbers…

Ness and Lucas exchanged a glance.

"If they're adding characters back from Brawl, then maybe they'll remember you." Ness said.

"I'm sure they remember me." Lucas looked back at the screen. "I just don't know if they like me."

Inkling, Captain Falcon, Zero Suit Samus and Wii Fit Trainer…

"A lot of characters are returning," Ness said.

"Yeah, but I'll be the first to go."

"Before Wii Fit Trainer?"

Lucas shrugged.

Squirtle, Ivysaur, Charizard, Pokemon Trainer…

"Wonder why they would add so many Brawl veterans," Ness said.

"Can we stop talking until it's over?" Lucas said.

Lucas bit his lip and narrowed his eyes at the TV. So much good news and he wasn't getting even a bit hopeful?

Ness and Lucas…

"Aw yeah." Ness hopped on the table. "Let's goooooo-"

Lucas tugged on his leg. "Can you get down from there? Other people are still watching."

"Fine, fine." Ness plopped back in his seat.

Ryu and Ganondorf, Ike, Cloud…

"Doubles is going to be _so_ much fun," Peach said, her soprano voice cutting through the music from the TV.

A pause. And then…

Snake.

"Damn," Ness said. "Who had to sell their soul to Konami?"

The words "EVERYONE IS HERE" popped up on the television. Ness grinned and looked over at Lucas, whose gaze hadn't wavered from the screen on the other side of the room.

Jigglypuff and Pichu, Roy, Olimar and Diddy Kong, Lucario, Lucina and Robin, Bayonetta…

"Well I guess we know who the top tiers are going to be," Ness said.

Lucas grunted, leaning forward towards the TV.

Mr. Game and Watch and Greninja, Dr Mario, R.O.B., Duck Hunt, Pit, Dark Pit, Palutena…

"Lucas. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. Fine."

"I'm so glad that we get to spend more time together. We'll be the best team in all of Smash, I promise."

"I just need to focus right now."

Corrin, Bowser Jr, Toon Link and Young Link, King Dedede, Rosalina and Luma…

"RIP my recovery," Ness said. "I think that already puts a tombstone on our chances of being top tier."

Mii Fighters… Really? Who asked for those back? Wario, Little Mac, Pac Man, Shulk…

"Riki for Smash," Peach said. "I won't rest until we get a Nopon in our roster."

Wolf, Mega Man, Luigi and Yoshi. The screen went black.

 _"That's right,"_ The TV blared, _"Every fighter from any previous Smash installation will be a part of the new roster."_

Lucas closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath.

"Did something happen while I was gone?" Ness said.

"Don't worry about it. I think I just need to be alone for a while." Lucas picked up his plate of falafel. "I'm glad that you made it back onto the roster, Ness. And I hope that we can further our friendship in the future."

Ness stood up, and Lucas' shoulders tensed.

"I'm sorry for whatever I did," Ness said. "But if you don't tell me what's bugging you then I can't help."

"It's not you, I promise. Maybe tomorrow I'll be back to the Lucas you know. Please don't follow me."

Lucas walked off and dumped the rest of his falafel in the trash. Ness stared after Lucas as he stacked up the trays strewn about at the return station and walked out the cafeteria doors without looking back.

Ness would have a better chance of beating Giygas again than understanding Lucas.

"I missed you two while watching the announcement. What happened?"

"Huh?" Ness looked over at Zelda and flopped onto the cushioned booth seat. "I'm not sure."

"Well, I'm glad that both you and Lucas made it back for the next installment," Zelda said. "I know that we'll all be happy to see you for more years. How do you think your parents will feel about your situation with school?"

"That's a problem for later. Do you know what's up with Lucas? I must have said something to piss him off."

"Hmm." Zelda glanced up at the steel ceiling. "I know that he has a lot of baggage. It probably isn't your fault."

"But maybe I said something that set him off."

"Maybe. But he won't blame you for it."

"Doesn't make it any less of my fault."

"Yo yo," came another voice. "What's up, bitches?"

Peach popped up next to Zelda, looking down at Ness' body sprawled across the booth seat.

"I don't blame you," Peach said. "I'd be starstruck too if I knew that I would get another chance to woo the love of my life."

"Peach…" Zelda shot her a glare that said "not now."

"What?" Ness sat up straight, feet slamming on the floor. "You mean Lucas?"

"Ah, so he _admits_ it." Peach's eyes fluttered. "Ah, to be young again."

"Shut up." Ness stood up and tried to make himself tall, coming up to Peach's neck. "What makes you think that you know anything about me?"

"Just teasing, honey." Peach winked. "But my legitimate advice is to take a leap of faith. It's better to love and have your heart broken than to have never loved at all."

"Does she do this to you?" Ness said, turning towards Zelda.

"Not as much." Zelda frowned. "Peach, please tone it down. We're actually trying to work something out here."

"Oh?" Peach leaned in. "What's new in your life, Ness?"

"Nobody said it had to do with me."

"Zelda's too _boring_ to have problems."

Zelda cleared her throat, and Peach winked at Ness before turning back to Zelda with an innocent expression.

"Peach," Ness said. "Do you know what's been going on with Lucas? He's been super distant lately."

"Ooh, maybe love is holding him in its sweet embrace." Peach clasped her hands together. "Wouldn't that be so poetic?"

"Love for who?" Ness said.

Peach stared at Ness until he got the message.

"Why would Lucas be in love with me?" Ness said. "I think you're just shipping people because you can."

"Come on," Peach said. "He's totally gay."

"I'm not sure why you're so confident on that," Zelda said. "Almost feels like you're projecting your image of Lucas onto him."

"And let's say he's gay," Ness said. "There's no reason why he would be attracted to me. He's seen me stuff a dozen french fries in my mouth. That's got to be enough to drive anyone away."

"Well, I'd be impressed," Peach said.

"We're not here to entertain your ships, Peach," Zelda said. "If you've been spending time around Lucas, we'd be happy to hear what you think about his current behavior. If not, then save it until you're only wasting my time."

"I'm not entirely joking you know," Peach said. "Okay, I don't really know that he's in love with you, Ness, but it's possible that he's trying to work through feelings for someone. Poor kid lost the people he loved the most so maybe he doesn't want to get close to anyone again."

"What happened to Lucas?" Ness said.

"His mother and twin brother were killed," Zelda said. "Both of their deaths were Porky's fault, by all accounts. But I know that Lucas always blamed himself for never being strong enough."

And Ness had tried to force Lucas to confront Porky again in Dalaam after all he had gone through. No wonder Lucas had left the table with barely a goodbye.

"I think it's also possible that he was just having an especially difficult day," Zelda said. "I don't know much about depression, but I think for a lot of people some days are worse than others. There doesn't always have to be a logical reason for why Lucas feels a certain way at a given moment."

"Do you think I should leave him alone?" Ness said. "He said that I should."

"In that case, I'd give him some space at least for a little while," Zelda said. "But let us know if he's still distant in a few days, okay?"

"All right." Ness glanced around at the other Smash fighters chattering about potential new fighters for the franchise. "He seemed especially nervous about the announcement, but didn't calm down when we were announced as returning fighters. Do you know what else he might have been thinking of?"

"Maybe he really wanted Waluigi in the new roster," Peach said.

"That does seem strange," Zelda said, ignoring Peach. "Lucas has to be happy that he got announced, right?"

"You would think so," Ness said. "But maybe he didn't want to be in the new Smash Bros?"

"That can't be it." Peach took out her parasol and twirled it around. "He's told me before that Smash Skyscraper is his only real home. If he hadn't been announced it would be the equivalent of him getting kicked onto the streets."

"Is it possible that he did feel better after you two were announced and he didn't show it?" Zelda said.

"I'm not sure. There was definitely something bugging him."

"Hmm." Peach paced back and forth. "What if he wasn't hoping that he was announced? I was joking about Waluigi, but maybe he wanted someone else to join the roster."

"Or," Zelda said. "Hoping that someone else wasn't announced."

The television screen in the background flickered back to life with a cackling laugh, showing a white screen.

 _"I hope some of you got the memo that we have some new faces joining Smash."_

Peach and Zelda exchanged a glance.

 _"I'm looking forward to seeing what this world has to offer. Mmm…"_

An image came into focus on the TV. At first, it looked like a humanoid in a dark spacesuit standing inside of a metal base. As the image cleared, Ness made out distinctive spherical pieces of shoulder armor.

Only one person he knew had an armor suit like that.

"What happened to Samus?" Peach said.

"She said new face, right?" Ness said. "I don't know what this… thing is, but I don't think it's Samus."

The image's blur faded, revealing a humanoid in a suit that looked similar to Samus' while dull blue lights glowed from the cracks in between the armor.

"I think I almost cut my eyes looking at all that edge," Peach said, holding her parasol towards the TV to block her view.

 _"I'll be thrilled to meet all of you on the battlefield of Smash. I think that you'll find that I'll be a more than adequate replacement for your old friend."_

The TV made another static noise and then faded into a black screen.

"Is it over now?" Peach said. "I swear, this is like the Dark Pit announcement all over again."

"She said that she was a replacement for Samus," Zelda said. "Ness. Samus was confirmed to be on the roster, right?"

"Yeah, I think everyone's here."

"Which means she must know about Samus' disappearance. Maybe she knows something about Rosalina's absence as well." Zelda looked at the black TV screen, her eyes narrowing. "Meet me in the library later, both of you. I think we have some research to do."

* * *

 **Key terms:**

 **Meta Knight's accent:** In the Kirby anime, Meta Knight has a Spanish accent. And it's not like they got someone who normally speaks with an accent to play the role. They hired Brock's voice actor from Pokemon and made him do a fake Spanish accent, and that turns out about as well as you might expect it would. Ness is making fun of that here.

 **Riki/Nopon:** Riki is a nopon, which is a species in Xenoblade Chronicles 1, X, and 2. Riki's in Shulk's final smash if you ever play with the smash ball on (I don't). If not, I'd recommend googling pictures of nopon... they're pretty cute! Oh and Nopon is pronounced No-pon in Xenoblade X and Nah-pon in Xenoblades 1 and 2 to be extra confusing.

 **New roster announcement:** Hopefully it's pretty obvious that this refers to Smash Ultimate. The order the characters were revealed in matches the E3 trailer.

 **Dark Samus:** Dark Samus was recently announced for Smash Ultimate, and the character at the end talking through the TV is her. I've never played the Metroid Prime games, so I skimmed the wiki to get a better idea of what she's like.

* * *

 **One thing I'm not sure I mentioned is that characters are the same as my previous smash fics, so the Lucas, Peach, and Zelda there are the same people here. Some setup plot points (Rosalina going missing) are also from previous fics, along with character moments (Lucas and Zelda's first meeting that they talked about last chapter). However, I'm making sure that you don't need to read those fics to understand what's going on here.**

 **Review Response:**

 **Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf:** Oh yeah I definitely remember you :) Yep angsty Lucas is here to stay, same with my other smash fics. And thanks! Zelda fits pretty naturally into the role of balancing out Peach's crazy side haha. And unfortunately, I don't think Zelda's new appearance is really going to be discussed in this fic. It wouldn't really make sense within the world, and I'd be more likely to have TP Zelda be a totally different character from ALBW Zelda, but that sounds like too many Zeldas already. Sorry :(


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